370 



GREAT BRITAIN. 



offer the friendly offices of England. The Rus- 

 sian Government saw things in the same light, 

 and the visit of the Emperor Alexander to 

 Berlin supplied the means of supporting Eng- 

 land's representations. Lord Derby concluded 

 by declaring that England had done her duty 

 without sacrifices, past, present, or prospective. 

 She had entered into no engagements and made 

 no pledges ; but her policy of non-intervention 

 did not mean isolation or indifference to the 

 peace of Europe. 



On June 9th the Sultan of Zanzibar arrived 

 at Gravesend. He remained in England about 

 a month, all the expenses of his visit being de- 

 frayed by the English Government. He left 

 England on July 19th for France, where he paid 

 a visit to the President of the Republic, after 

 which he returned home by the way of Egypt. 



The assassination of Captain Margary by 

 Chinese subjects, near the northern frontier 

 of Burmah, led to serious complications with 

 both Burmah and China. The Governments 

 of both these countries finally agreed to the 

 demands of England (see BUKMAH and CHINA). 



In December a new set of instructions, based 

 upon the following rules, was approved by the 

 Admiralty for the guidance of commanders-in- 

 chief and commanding officers of her Majesty's 

 ships, and was to be issued in the place of the 

 "suspended " Admiralty circular: 



"When any person professing or appearing to be a 

 fugitive slave seeks admission to one of her Majes- 

 ty's ships on the high-seas, beyond the limit of terri- 

 torial waters, and claims the protection of the British 

 flag, the commanding officer is to bear in mind that, 

 although her Majesty's Government is desirous by 

 every means in its power to remove or mitigate the 

 evils of slavery, yet her Majesty's ships are not in- 

 tended for the reception of persons otner than their 

 officers and crew. A commanding officer is. there- 

 fore, to satisfy himself before receiving the fugitive 

 on board that there is sufficient reason in the par- 

 ticular case for thus receiving him. In any case in 

 which, for reasons that may be deemed adequate, a 

 commanding officer shall nave received a fugitive 

 slave on board one of her Majesty's ships, and have 

 taken him under the protection of the British flag 

 upon the high-seas beyond the limit of territorial 

 waters, he may be retained on board the ship, if he 

 so desires, until he can be landed in some country 

 or transferred to some other ship where his liberty 

 will be recognized and respected. Within the terri- 

 torial waters of a foreign state, commanding officers 

 of her Majesty's ships are bound by the comity of 

 nations, while maintaining the proper exemption of 

 their ships from local jurisdiction, not to allow them 

 to become a shelter for those who would be charge- 

 able with the violation of the law of the place. If, 

 therefore, while one of her Majesty's ships is within 

 the territorial waters of a state where slavery exists, 

 a person professing or appearing to be a fugitive 

 slave seeks admission on board, the commanding 

 officer is not empowered to receive him unless his 

 life would be in manifest danger if he were not ad- 

 mitted into the ship. Should such a person be re- 

 ceived in order to save him from dano-er, he ought 

 not to be permitted to continue on board after the 

 danger is passed. But commanding officers are not 

 to entertain any demand for the surrender of such 

 person, or enter into any examination as to his 

 status. If, while any of her Majesty's ships are 

 within the territorial waters of any chief or state in 

 Arabia, or on the shores of the Persian Gulf, or on 



the East Coast of Africa, or in any island lying off 

 Arabia, or off Zanzibar, Madagascar, and the Como- 

 ro Islands, any person should claim admission on 

 board, and protection, on the ground that he has 

 been kept in a state of slavery contrary to treaties 

 existing between Great Britain and such territory, 

 he may be retained until the truth of his statement 

 is examined into. In making this examination it is 

 suggested that the nearest British consular authority 

 should be communicated with, and special reports 

 are always to be made of fugitive slaves seeking 

 refuge on board any of her Majesty's ships. 



This new fugitive- slave circular caused great 

 dissatisfaction. The Antislavery Society and 

 the Birmingham Liberal Association issued an 

 emphatic protest against it. The latter society 

 stigmatized the circular " as opposed to human 

 freedom and English feeling, and as disgrace- 

 ful to the nation." The Times, the Post, the 

 Daily News, and the Standard, agreed in se- 

 verely condemning the circular. 



In July a great damage was caused by the 

 sudden overflow of the river Nene. Four 

 thousand acres of grazing-land were flooded 

 between Edrith and Denburgh, and 3,000 cat- 

 tle were deprived of pasturage. The water 

 was three and four feet deep on 4,000 acres of 

 land near Whittlesey. No such flood had been 

 seen in that section of the country for fifty 

 years. In October and November great floods 

 occurred in Devonshire ; Torquay, Teignmouth, 

 and Dawlish, were flooded, and much dam- 

 age was done to property. A district of Bris- 

 tol, with a population of 6,000 souls, was de- 

 clared by the sanitary authorities unfit for 

 habitation until midsummer. In the valley of 

 the Trent large tracts of land were expected to 

 remain under water throughout the winter. 

 The floods were particularly disastrous at Dar- 

 lington, in Durham, where the gas-works were 

 flooded, and the town consequently left in total 

 darkness. At Rotherham, in Yorkshire, 2,000 

 people were thrown out of employment be- 

 cause of the flooding at the factories. 



On December 17th the Earl of Derby was 

 formally installed as Rector of the University 

 of Edinburgh, and delivered his inaugural ad- 

 dress. In the evening he made a speech before 

 the Workingmen's Conservative Association, 

 in the course of which he alluded to England's 

 relations with Egypt. He denied that the 

 Suez Canal purchase signified a reversal of 

 England's policy on the Eastern question, and 

 disclaimed any desire on the part of the Gov- 

 ernment to establish a protectorate over Egypt. 

 He declared that the only object of the Gov- 

 ernment was to obtain additional security and 

 uninterrupted access to India. 



The centenary of the birthday of O'Connell 

 was celebrated at Dublin, on August 5th and 

 the following days, with great festivities. The 

 exclusive character of the invitation widened, 

 however, the split already existing between 

 the Irish Home-Rulers and the Catholic party. 

 The former were especially indignant that even 

 the most prominent of the Home-Rule mem- 

 bers of the British Parliament, Dr. Isaac Butt, 

 had not been invited to the festival. 



